Heat removal is a prominent factor in computer system and data center design. The number of information technology (IT) components such as servers deployed within a data center has steadily increased as the server performance has improved, thereby increasing the amount of heat generated during the ordinary operation of the servers. The reliability of servers used within a data center decreases if the environment in which they operate is permitted to increase in temperature over time. A significant portion of the data center's power is used for cooling electronics at the server level. As the number of servers within a data center increases, a greater portion of the power is commensurately consumed by the data center to cool electronic components within the servers.
In conventional data center structures, a computer room air conditioner (CRAC) circulates cold air throughout a data center. Conventionally, the CRAC is a closed-loop system that cools returning air drawn from within the data center and recirculates the cooled air to the servers within the data center. Because air drawn by the CRAC originates within the data center, the air has an increased temperature from cooling the servers in the data center. Certain conventional data centers utilize heat exchangers disposed on the top of electronic racks. However such a configuration may cause maintenance problems such as liquid leakage, which may damage the IT components or elements. Further, such a design is inefficient in a modular data center configuration.